Ottoman Bulgaria

Ottoman Bulgaria was a period from 1396 to 1878, during which Bulgaria was ruled by the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans conquered the smaller kingdoms emerging from the disintegrating Second Bulgarian Empire during the late 14th century, and Ottoman rule over Bulgaria was confirmed after the Ottomans routed an army of Hungarian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, French, English, Burgundian, German, and assorted troops at the Battle of Nicopolis on 25 September 1396. On 10 November 1444, the Ottomans defeated another crusader attempt to reconquer Bulgaria at the Battle of Varna, during which King Wladyslaw III of Poland was slain. Bulgaria was divided into several vilayets, and the locals were treated well; there were few instances of forced conversions to Islam, and parents were happy to enroll their sons as Janissaries to ensure them comfortable and successful lives. During the third quarter of the 19th century, however, armed resistance against the Ottomans grew, and the Bulgarians launched the April Uprising in 1876. The Russian Empire, eager to expand its influence into the Balkans, joined the war, starting the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. In 1878, an independent Principality of Bulgaria was created, albeit far smaller than the proposed Bulgarian state.